1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer security, and more particularly but not exclusively to methods and apparatus for encrypting and decrypting messages.
2. Description of the Background Art
Webmail (or Web-based e-mail) is an e-mail service intended to be primarily accessed via a web browser as opposed to through a desktop e-mail client. Webmail is available from a variety of providers including HOTMAIL, YAHOO! MAIL, and GMAIL webmail services. Webmail is very popular because it is typically provided at no cost to the user and is relatively simple to access, only requiring a computer with a web browser and access to the Internet. However, privacy remains a major concern when using a webmail service. In particular, the webmail service provider has full access to the e-mails and, since webmail is generally accessible over the Internet, hackers may break into the webmail.
Encryption techniques may be employed to prevent unauthorized access to e-mails. Unfortunately, existing encryption solutions are not user-friendly. For example, Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption requires manual exchange of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) public key before encrypted communication can take place. Existing encryption solutions also require the users to manage cryptographic keys. Because of the difficulty involved in encrypting an e-mail and because a lot of users are not comfortable with computer operations, e-mail encryption is not widely adopted. The above problems are exacerbated when using webmail because webmail is expected to be simple to access and is typically accessed using a web browser.